


Under Pressure You Rise

by patchworkofstars



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 22:02:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15300975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patchworkofstars/pseuds/patchworkofstars
Summary: Virgil would rather forget his past, but on the anniversary of his name reveal Logan has a gift for him to symbolise how far he’s come.





	Under Pressure You Rise

Virgil was trying to forget.

He sat on a cushion on the floor, wedged into a narrow space between bookcases, his headphones blasting Panic! At The Disco at an even higher volume than usual. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the music, and on the softness of the fleece blanket beneath him as he stroked his hands gently over it.

But the calendar seared through all distractions. He could see the image of today’s date clearly in his mind’s eye, even though he’d turned it to the wall.

Droplets of memories condensed and pooled around it: The shock of them all appearing uninvited in his room. Roman’s unforgettable piercing scream. Patton trying to escape the inanimate spiders on the curtains. Logan speaking so rapidly his words had tumbled from his lips in a torrent of agitated exposition. Their panic spiralling the longer they stayed, as the room layered his own functions on top of their own. 

Getting them all the hell out of there, and the relief and embarrassment that followed. Thomas’ forgiveness, acceptance, _thanks_ that Virgil had never thought he would ever hear, ever experience… And yet, as a part of Thomas himself, he had felt the truth of that affection soak through him, beautiful and undeniable, warming him to his core. 

Him telling them his name, trusting them with that most personal of secrets.

And then, as if their stated acceptance hadn't already been so much more than he felt he could ever deserve, the others had come back to visit him, each independently and of their own accord, to… Well, to show in their own awkward ways that they no longer saw him as a threat to be avoided or defeated. To prove they saw him as a member of Team Keep Thomas Alive, or whatever the heck they were. Friends, even if it took them a while longer to actually use that word. Friends, mismatched perhaps but they didn't seem to mind. 

He wished he could pretend things had always been this way.

A loud rap on the door cut through his reminiscing, and he flinched. Three knocks, of even firmness, and then silence. Slowly he let out the breath he’d been holding. Logan’s knock. He could cope with Logan.

He pulled himself unsteadily to his feet, flexing the worst of the stiffness from his legs before shuffling to open the door. 

The logical side stood on the threshold, his posture as perfect as ever and a neutral expression on his face. Virgil eyed him nervously, his eyes drifting down to where one hand was tucked awkwardly out of sight behind Logan’s back.

The emo swallowed. Even the best possible reasons he could think of to explain that pose increased his anxiety tenfold. Forcing his gaze back to Logan’s face he asked, “What’s up?”

Logan adjusted his glasses. “I assume you’re aware of what day it is?”

“Uh, Sunday, right?” said Virgil, his hands tightening into fists in his pockets as he forced himself to sound nonchalant.

Logan frowned. “Accurate, but not what I meant. I was referring to the date, July 15th, and more specifically to the implications thereof.”

Virgil’s grimaced, his heart sinking. “Yeah, I know what day it is”, he admitted. “So, uh, what about it?"

“There are two matters I came to discuss”, Logan replied. He gestured towards the room behind Virgil. “If you don’t mind, I believe a more private setting would be preferable.

Virgil shrugged. “Yeah, okay”, he agreed, stepping aside to let the logical side enter. He couldn’t help but notice, as Logan stepped in, that he kept that one hand carefully out of sight.

“So, what did you wanna talk about?” he asked, closing the door.

Logan cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses again. “Firstly, I thought I should alert you to the fact that Patton and Roman are preparing a surprise party for you downstairs.”

Virgil shuddered. “Ugh, thanks for the warning, dude.”

“Any time. I’m well aware you share my distaste for such things. Of course, you may wish to play along with it anyway, to avoid disappointing them.”

“Yeah, I will. I don’t wanna upset Patton or have to listen to Princey whining.” Virgil sighed, running a hand through his hair. “To be honest, I kinda hoped you’d all forgotten about the whole anniversary thing.”

“You hoped we’d forgotten?” Logan narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Why would you want that?”

The emo rubbed the back of his head, painfully aware of the silence stretching between them as he tried to find the words to express his complex feelings.

“I’m not exactly proud of how I was in the past”, he admitted at last. “I hissed at you, I made Thomas too scared to do things he could’ve enjoyed…and I also called you, Patton, and Princey clueless morons.”

“Indeed, that was hardly a fair assessment in my case.” Logan’s mouth twitched with the hint of a smile, and, despite his nervousness, Virgil felt his own lips twist into a lopsided grin in response.

“So… Are we good? I mean, you all say we are, but I worry about it, surprise surprise.”

“If you’re asking whether we’ve fully forgiven your past misdemeanours, we most certainly have. Besides which, we were far from blameless ourselves. I hope you have forgiven us in turn for our less than favourable treatment of you.”

“Wait, you want _me_ to forgive _you_?”

“Is that a problem?” Logan looked genuinely concerned.

“Hell no, of course I forgive you guys! I just wish we could put all that stuff behind us and forget about it.”

“Hmm.” Logan shifted from one foot to the other. Virgil’s eyes flicked down once more to where that one hand was still tucked awkwardly behind his back.

“So, uh, what else did you want to say?” he asked nervously. “There were two things, right?”

“Ah, yes...” Logan hesitated for a moment to adjust his tie, traces of eyeshadow becoming more evident below his eyes. He took a deep breath and brought a fist-sized parcel from behind his back, neatly wrapped in deep indigo paper and tied with silver ribbon.

“A gift from me in honour of the occasion”, he said. “A small token of my appreciation and respect for you.”

Some of Virgil’s lingering tension fell away. At least this was the best of his possible imagined scenarios: a gift, unwanted but nevertheless appreciated. He ducked his head, hoping to hide the blush Logan’s words had prompted, and focused instead on unwrapping the present.

Then he frowned, baffled. “It’s a rock”, he stated flatly. “A stripy rock.”

"Indeed", said Logan. He smiled, seeming inordinately pleased with himself. "It’s gneiss. A rather fine specimen, if I do say so myself." 

“It’s nice? I mean sure, as rocks go it’s okay I guess. Thanks?”

Logan shook his head. “No, it’s _gneiss_ ”, he corrected. “G-n-e-i-s-s. The name comes from the old German word meaning bright or sparkling, because crystals in it glitter when the light hits them." 

Virgil moved the rock in his hand, squinting as it glinted in the candlelight. “Huh. I guess that is kind of neat, in a way”, he said.

“I chose it because it’s a high-grade metamorphic rock”, the logical side added, still with that self-satisfied smile.

“It’s a what now?”

“It was created when the minerals in a rock recrystallised under intense heat and pressure into a more stable form”, Logan explained patiently. “I like to think of it as symbolic of your own metamorphosis.”

Virgil blinked at him, speechless for a moment. “So, uh, it melted and then turned back to stone?” he asked finally, then mentally cursed himself. _Nice job sounding like a moron yourself there, Virgil. Couldn't you think of something half-decent to say?_

“On the contrary”, replied Logan, “With metamorphic rocks the original rock is never destroyed, it merely changes and adapts itself to better cope with the conditions.”

He was smiling broadly now, despite the darkening patches beneath his eyes, and Virgil realised he’d chosen those words to clearly show the parallel with his own situation. He ducked his head to hide his own smile, playing the rock between his hands and looking at it again through the lens of new understanding.

“Thank you”, he said quietly. “Pretty sure it’s the nerdiest gift possible, but I appreciate it, dude.”

"Indeed", agreed Logan immodestly. "I'm proud of you, Virgil. You have come through your experiences changed but strong, and I – and all of us – have come to care about you a great deal. You’re an invaluable part not only of Thomas' personality but also of what Patton likes to refer to as our family. I'm glad to have you around." 

He took a deep breath, still fighting the room’s effects. “Now, I suspect Roman and Patton have finished their preparations. Will you join us downstairs for your ‘surprise’ party? I believe it would be prudent for me to leave this environment soon, given my current elevated heart rate and-”

His too-rapid speech stopped short when Virgil placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “Sure thing, buddy”, he said. “Let’s get you out of here and go see what the others are up to.”

Logan sank out, but Virgil lingered a moment longer, his hand hovering the gneiss above his desk. Then he changed his mind and tucked it into his pocket. It might be comforting to have with him if the party got too rowdy. After all, what could be more grounding than a rock?

And besides, they’d been through a lot, both of them, but now all that was in the past and they’d never have to be alone again.


End file.
